Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, today announced that the Chicago Development Fund has been awarded $55 million in New Markets Tax Credits from the U.S. Treasury Department to invest in projects and businesses in low-income communities in Chicago. The New Markets Tax Credit Program, established by Congress in December 2000, helps economically distressed communities attract private investment capital and fill project financing gaps by enabling investors to make more significant investments than would otherwise be possible.
“The New Markets Tax Credit is an important federal resource that has helped lead to many success stories across Chicago and Illinois,” said Durbin. “I applaud the work the Chicago Development Fund is doing to reinvigorate neighborhoods and congratulate them on receiving this award. Senator Duckworth and I will continue advocating for these federal funds to help spur economic development where it is needed most.”
“We should be doing everything we can to help create new economic opportunities for working families, which is why I’m glad that the New Markets Tax Credit award will invest in businesses and projects in low-income communities in Chicago, helping to spur growth and create jobs,” said Duckworth. “I’m proud to join Senator Durbin in announcing this infusion of federal funding and I’ll keep working to help our state build a stronger economy that works for all Illinoisans.”
“One of the best ways we can sustain our city’s long-term economic growth and vitality is by driving catalytic investments into our most underserved neighborhoods,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “With this latest round of New Markets Tax Credits, the Chicago Development Fund will be able to do just that by uplifting our low-income communities through the power of public and private sector partnership.”
The Chicago Development Fund is a non-profit affiliate of the City of Chicago that invests in communities using New Markets Tax Credit financing. Recent projects include the Auburn Gresham Healthy Lifestyle Hub, Covenant House Illinois, and North Lawndale Employment Network.
The New Markets Tax Credit Program allows individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in Community Development Entities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the investment cost and is claimed over a seven-year period.
Historically, New Markets Tax Credit awards have generated $8 of private investment for every $1 invested by the federal government. Through the end of Fiscal Year 2020, New Markets Tax Credit award recipients deployed almost $56 billion in investments in low-income communities and businesses nationwide, with impacts such as the creation or retention of nearly 871,000 jobs and the construction or rehabilitation of nearly 231.5 million square feet of commercial real estate.
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